Sports

Mackenzies Throw First Combined No-hitter

Junior Mackenzie Audas and sophomore Mackenzie Huhn registered the first combined no-hitter in UCF history during a 7-2 victory over Iona on Tuesday at the UCF Softball Complex.

The no-hitter is the 11th in program history and Audas has now been involved in three of them. Audas (8-8) tallied 11 strikeouts in six shutout innings, while Huhn tossed the seventh and sent down one batter on strikes.

A total of 19 players made an appearance for the Knights against Iona (2-11), which saw sophomore left fielder Brittanne Gasser connect on a two-run homer to put the Knights up 7-0 in the sixth. It was the first career round tripper for the Sterling, Va., native.

The Knights open American Athletic Conference play on Saturday with a doubleheader against Memphis at 1 p.m. It will be The Jedi Knights day at the UCF Softball Complex where fans are encouraged to come dressed as their favorite Star Wars character.

A combined no-hitter was notched by Audas and Huhn in the 7-2 victory over Iona. The big hit for the Knights came from Gasser, who notched her first career home run, while UCF stole nine bases, one off the program record of 10 set vs. Penn last year.

After Sullivan notched a two-out single in the first inning, sophomore outfielder Mariah Garcia began the second with a base knock down the right field line. She swiped second and eventually scored on an RBI groundout by Solis.

The Knights pushed across two runs without a hit in the third to take a 3-0 advantage. A walk drawn by sophomore outfielder Taylor Wagner and quick steal of second allowed her to score on an errant throw sac bunt by junior outfielder Kahley Novak. The second error in the inning enabled Novak to cross the plate.

UCF tacked on two more runs in the fourth on an infield base hit by Novak with the bases loaded and single to left by Goodwin to extend the lead to 5-0.

Following a single by freshman pinch hitter Blaire Kelley, Gasser connected on the round tripper to left that put the Knights up 7-0 in the sixth.

The Gaels took advantage of a pair of walks, three wild pitches and an error to push across two runs in the seventh.

Jordan Courage for the Gaels started and fell to 0-4 on the season with two strikeouts in a pair of innings. Carly Argyle and Sarah McMahon each saw action for Iona.